Pokhora to Lahachowk Village

We found out this morning that Navin's neighbor passed away unexpectedly in Lahachowk, the village we will be staying. The community comes together to cremate the body right away. We did not think we would be coming at all, but Navin and his family, extended family and neighbors told us to come. We had an hour drive in jeeps, which is always interesting on these roads😬, and were welcomed by all of them with Tika, flowers from their gardens and Masala tea. We had a beautiful group photo and then enjoyed a lunch of Mushroom soup and momos with sauce. It was delicious. We were assigned to Navin's home and our remaining group are at His brother's home & a neighbors for homestay. We bought a tarp for Navins patio as protection from the sun which made a huge difference and then after lunch the rain poured, so good protection. Yesterday at the market, we purchased all the groceries for the 10 of us to stay. The family is one that Brad and Jen have known and supported for many years. In the afternoon we walked part of the irrigation put in by ICO and checked for damage. We are marking any spots that need repairs using our strava and Alltrails apps w pictures. We then continued on a walk through the village.
The ICO built the canals to help irrigate the rice fields 

The diff temples we have seen represent diff. Castes
They can worship together in common temples or go to other temples, but one day a year they worship in their own temple by name

Very friendly villagers and especially the kids giving us flowers and introducing themselves. We and they greet us with Namaste
We came to the school where there was a giant swing on a tree. A few of us took turns. Felt like a kid sgain🥰

2 women invited me to see their animals and helped me over their wall and held my hand, so welcoming 

I played soccer on the road with 2 kids for about 15 minutes then 2 more came along. That was fun!

Basmati rice is more milky, liquid and more expensive because it takes longer to grow & firm up 4 mo  vs 3 for less expensive rice,
Medicine rice, when someone is sick they cook it in butter and they get better.
Soybeans grow along rice fields
The village is surrounded by rice fields on tiers.
We enjoyed a really nice meal prepared by Navin's brother who is a chef.Læs mere